During the latest business disruption, many businesses have had to utilize technology in order to stay in communication throughout the pandemic. Doing business virtually certainly comes with its challenges, but it has opened many leaders up to new ways of conducting day-to-day operations. Read on to find out how these company leaders have pivoted their businesses online and what they have learned in the process.
New tech for new demographics.
The vice chancellor for academic and student affairs sees offering online options as an opportunity to reach new demographics. He looks to the past to see how other institutions were able to survive similar disruptions by making themselves accessible to new kinds of students and workers.
“As we look to the fall, because we’re an enrollment driven institution, [we’re considering if there are] new populations of students that we might be able to reach as these programs evolve that we have not in the past. We have to generate markets. The last time higher education had this type of a big drop in enrollment, high school and all that kind of stuff, goes back to the eighties. And we saw a lot of schools close. But the ones that survived were the ones that started reaching out and serving more women, adult learners, et cetera.”
Being honest about limitations.
Although taking things online can make things more accessible for some, it can also really limit communication for others. President and CEO of a Midwest engineering and design firm talks about what we lose out on when we lose out on face-to-face interactions.
“There’s a different relationship that you build when you’re able to physically be with people. And while in the short term we have great relationships and we can do these Zoom calls and everything, I don’t think that there’s going to be a substitute for that human interaction. There’s just something, and I’m probably not the best to describe what it is, but there’s something different about it that allows you to interact and read people and understand what their thinking and reactions are that you just can’t do through video or Zoom calls.”
Face to face is a welcomed practice in business to business.
Losing that face-to-face interaction can be particularly tough on small businesses, who often stand apart because of their personal customer service offerings. Executive vice president of national bank talks about how losing out on in-person interactions has affected what makes his business different from big competitors.
“As a community institution, the reason why somebody would bank with us versus a big brand – or with some other larger complex that already has all these great tools – is that personal relationship contact of it, and if we lose that capability of that personal touch, we lose a key competitive or service advantage.”
Adapt to last through crisis.
There are certain crisis responses that won’t outlast a crisis, but disruption can be an opportunity to reevaluate how business works moving forward. President and CEO of a financial corporation talks about what he thinks will outlast this recent crisis and what businesses can take with them into the future.
“I have to imagine that precautions will fade away as health concerns are minimized by vaccines and medical treatments advancing and things like that. So, I feel that stuff eventually falling away, but I think that we’re going to have more people working from home on a more regular basis. I think the way that we staff our offices will certainly change for the long term. We’re learning how to do more with less right now. And we’re learning a lot of valuable lessons about staffing branches and how many people we need and how many people we need on-site.
So, I see some of that changing permanently. I see how we interact with each other, handshakes and less face to face, more video, more data online or through mobile channels.”
Gowing through adversity.
Despite the challenges faced, the CEO of an agriculture firm believes this last year has offered his business opportunities to pivot, rethink and ultimately grow.
“I see opportunity. What I see is that if you deliver in time of the crisis, that’s how you build … Yes, there’s a face to face, but I think we live in more of a results-oriented world than sometimes we even want to admit. And so, our focus is more on hey, how do we solve their problems? And you do that, you’re going to make a lot of friends.”
Whether you love it or hate it, change is unavoidable. Virtual business has been a big help to get companies through, and we’ve learned a lot of lessons we can apply beyond a state of disruption. There’s still a connective void that many feel is best filled through in-person human interaction, but there are efficiencies we’ve all uncovered with virtual tools along the way. The beauty lies in the balance of these forces.
Here’s to making business happen no matter what and no matter where.
We hope you found worthwhile insights in this article. For more, read other articles from our Navigating Disruption series.
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